The fields of remanufacturing and salvaging have grown tremendously in recent decades. Systems and parts that were once considered to have no value greater than scrap are often now returned to service in a state and to specifications as good as or better than new. In some instances, it is only necessary to clean up and inspect a used machine component to determine suitability for further service. The presence of cracks, spalling, fretting, dimensional changes, deformation, and a host of other types of damage or wear can affect whether a component can be successfully returned to service, with or without repair. Modern technologies have been developed to address many of the types of damage and wear that are observed in components, such as engine components and machinery components. While repair of damage and wear provides an effective strategy for remanufacturing certain component types, other used components have defied repair despite a host of sophisticated available technologies.
In the case of sparkplugs, use of the sparkplug over millions or even billions of operating cycles can actually cause material of the electrodes to erode and/or dissipate, creating challenges for successful reuse that have defied attempts at remanufacturing. German Patent Reference DE202011003816U1 depicts one example strategy for sparkplug gap setting, where it appears some compensation for eroded electrode material is proposed thereby allowing the sparkplug to be returned to service. While this and other gap-setting techniques might extend the service life of a sparkplug somewhat, there is ample room for improvement.